Iran Stands against Spread of Instability in Mideast: Defense Minister

November 7, 2016 - 16:40

Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan

Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan says the Islamic Republic is standing against any force spreading instability in the Middle East.

“Security and stability in the region are currently considered as important issues for the Islamic Republic of Iran and we (Iran) will definitely stand against the spread of instability in the region or those forces and elements that are promoters of such an unstable and insecure trend,” Dehqan told IRNA on Monday.

He added that Iran’s cooperation with Russia and Syria concerns the “goals and strategies which we have in the region and across the world.”

Such issues relate to Iran’s objectives and national interests, he emphasized.

Dehqan once again reaffirmed Iran’s support for regional countries “until security is restored to the region and terrorist and Takfiri groups are uprooted.”

Iran and Russia are Syria’s main allies and have been assisting the government in Damascus in its fight against foreign-backed terrorist groups, including the Daesh Takfiri terrorists.

On October 28, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Russian and Syrian counterparts, Sergei Lavrov and Walid Muallem, respectively, held a three-way meeting in Moscow and discussed possible ways to find a political solution to the Syria crisis besides a serious fight against the Takfiri terror groups operating in the Arab country.

Since September 30, 2015, Russia has been conducting airstrikes against Daesh and other terrorist groups in Syria at the Syrian government’s request.

Iran has also been providing advisory assistance to the Syrian government.

Syria has been gripped by a foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict.